This press release
announces plans for
Universal Combat: Hold the Line (thanks Frans), a Universal Combat expansion, while
simultaneously, somewhat confusingly, heralding the end of the short-lived UC
series (which was planned as the new Battlecruiser franchise), saying the
previously announced UC: Edge to Edge is now a working title, and that the
game's official title will be unveiled later this year. Meanwhile, here's the
announcement of Hold the Line, planned for release this holiday season:

We have no immediate plans to develop another stand alone Battlecruiser
title in the short term. As such, today we are announcing the above currently in
progress addition to the Universal Combat franchise. Our aim with UCHTL is to
improve on various critical aspects of the previous title in order to provide an
even more advanced and fun title based on lessons learned from the previous
offering.

Probably the last of its kind in the Battlecruiser series as we have come to
know it, we are making UCHTL the all-encompassing game with as much advancements
and fun filled gameplay in first person planet-side careers as is currently seen
in the space borne careers. An extensive FAQ which will be frequently updated to
reflect inbound questions, is located at
www.3000ad.com/products/uchtlfaq.html .

quote:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Originally posted by SlidingLongboarder:I have a feeling it's my system because it does a lot of other things that don't seem to happen to anybody else. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right. So why exactly are you posting in my thread about stuff going on with YOUR computer?

Oh, I don't think I'd say that, exactly. Huffman turned it into a crusade, for sure. But only because Smart wouldn't be truthful. If not for Huffman, the truth about Smart's Ph.D. would likely never have come out. Is the truth worth Huffman suffering a little humility (by making Huffman seem like a bit of a rabid dog at times)?

The answer, good people, is yes. Keats said truth is beauty and I have to agree.

This is really great stuff! That entire site that Enahs pointed me to is so filled with great material that it will be difficult to get through it all.

keep in mind that Bill Huffman is just as fucked up as derek. At least Derek has a clinical excuse for his behavior (personality disorder). To this day he's still locked in mortal combat with Smart on various message boards like those characters in that Star Trek (original) episode. (The ones that are caught between the matter-antimatter universes).

Here we have the elusive devoloper troll. Our crew has only been able to capture a small clip of this specimen's behavior, as wild developer trolls are known to whine for years on end if allowed.

This subject has not quite reached maturaty, and it is quite unlikely that it will. At this age it is quite hostile and will likely pounce on anyone or anything that it finds as a threat to it's manhood. Watch closely as it uses such vicious attacks as the unnecesary bracketed words, and such words as "'tards" or "tits".

If this brief clip where to be continued the troll would likely attempt to mate with the insult-ee. Mother nature has assured, however, that this particular troll will likely never mate by equipping it with a malformed, giant head. This may seem cruel, but it is meerly nature's way of assuring the future of all developer trolls.

Neer the end you can see it unhinge it's mighty jaws and unleash the finishing blow (for both it's prey and it's poor game) by insulting both those who have bought the game and those who may consider it by calling them both to stupid to correctly play it.

This disturbing evidence of nature's sick sense of humor should serve as a lesson to us all. We should be carefull to avoid mother nature's twisted, malformed, wretched spawns. Especially now as it is yet to be determined whether the horrid "being an ass" virus is contagious. For the time being I would strongly advise avoiding any contact with "Dr." Derek Smart or any of his games.

Thank you for joining us on today's episode of Nature. For more information please talk with "Dr." Smart, I am sure he would gladly talk at lengths about himself.

But instead, he oversees a mere niche product, and only one at that...It's really a sad shame.

I hate to beat a dead horse...

Regardless of genre, games that we play are all expansions or improvements to ideas that have been around for a long time. Modern FPS games were all born from the original Wolf3D. RPGs got their birth from the D & D and the like. Both of these genres have been improved upon and reinvented many, many times. We call that improvement or reinvention 'the standard' by which we measure games of that type.

Then along comes UC. Universal Combat is a combination of several different genres of games. The problem is that each of these genres have been developed over time; ideas expanded on, new ideas implemented, etc. The combination of them all has not.

Regardless of how I feel about Derek personally, I think that Universal Combat could have been a great game if he had stuck to what he is good at - making space sims. Derek's problem is that he doesn't take criticism well and therefore won't be able to improve his games beyond his own vision.

Ultimately, it's not about what we think should be created but what the end-user thinks should be created. After all, those of us in the computer industry are here to serve the end-user.

[Mr. Smart] is under the delusion that if you ignore people pointing out the truth, they are not pointing it out at all.

Well, you have to admit, since he kept to his own little Battlecruiser world, things have calmed down a bit for him. Looking over those 3000ad boards, however, reveals that he's the same nutcase from those old days.

Can you imagine what Smart's game repertoire might have been like if he was just a shade more normal, thus allowing more people to work with him (i.e. more and better programming resources)? He could have been what Romero always talked about being: uber-game-designer! But instead, he oversees a mere niche product, and only one at that...It's really a sad shame.

2. Did Mr. Smart ever actually address the PhD issue by addressing Huffman's individual points? Was it a lowly Degree mill or simply an unaccredited institution in England?

Finally on 9/3/99 he admitted that the source of his diploma was not accredited. A week later on 9/10/99 he admitted that Dr. John Bear listed the source of his diploma as a degree mill.

Took 4+ years of calling him a liar, but he finally admited to it.

3. What about Smart forging that kid's e-mail by peppering it with racist comments? The evidence they reveal is pretty strong.

He still denies it, however he has never showed the proof that he said he would show in 6 months (wtf kind of argument is that?)

4. The NPR (narcissistic personality disorder) stuff is fantasic and seems to be spot on. Any comment from Smart on this? Surely, he's read every syllable on that site.

No comment to my knowledge, though Mr. Smart has had the option from the get go to have rebuttal or his own story to be posted along with it (or anything on the site), but he does not….he is under the delusion that if you ignore people pointing out the truth, they are not pointing it out at all.

______________A post by Enahs; the only difference between me and Jesus is he could walk on water.....sober.

BTW - sorry Bronco, I've been too busy working on my car to come up with a goofy T-Shirt design, but I'll certainly keep it in mind. (I dunno if I could print something without getting sued, however...)

---------------------------------------------[No pixels were harmed in the making of this post.]

Ah, the banality and narcissism of it. The endless list of links down on the rightside frame. The acres of space in the centre frame (whats the matter Smart, nothing to say??). The empty calendar (clearly reflecting his social life, which apparently stopped in August 2003)

SmartSpeak. Empty of course.

The *fantastic* pictures, featuring the Great Taco and some toadies, and a car he hired and photoshopped 3000AD onto the plate.

Makes me kind of sorry I missed it, especially since I was much more into gaming in those days (96-99).

One thing that troubles me still are the seemingly unanswered questions. I mean, I've only gone through about a third of that site and what I've read all point to the same blanket conclusion (that he's certifiable). But there are still things I'd like to know. Like...

1. Was Bill Huffman ever actually sued?2. Did Mr. Smart ever actually address the PhD issue by addressing Huffman's individual points? Was it a lowly Degree mill or simply an unaccredited institution in England?3. What about Smart forging that kid's e-mail by peppering it with racist comments? The evidence they reveal is pretty strong.4. The NPR (narcissistic personality disorder) stuff is fantasic and seems to be spot on. Any comment from Smart on this? Surely, he's read every syllable on that site.

That's as far as I got, content-wise. I guess I need a sense of closure: I need for Smart to admit that he's sick and needs help. Otherwise, his reign of terror will continue. I mean, what about that poor kid who's only trying to damage enemy marines with the Mobile Forward Base? Christ, the man's tried 10 times!! Am I the only one thinking of him??sniff, sniff...wipes tears away.

He acts like a $cientologist. Suing everything and everyone that disagrees with him.

Of course $cientologists make their slaves either pay millions of dollars or do slave labor in order to find out about xenu, the evil galactic overlord and the millions of little aliens, called thetans, that control your body.

______________________________________________"When the bomb drops it'll be a bank holidayEverybody happy in their tents and caravansEverybody happy in their ignorance and apathyNo one realizes until the television breaks down..."